Andra AP fonden Has $18.12 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 152,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Paychex were worth $18,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Paychex by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $858,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,048,000 after purchasing an additional 32,171 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Paychex by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,691,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $201,474,000 after buying an additional 63,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.62.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $132.22 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $133.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $125.05 and its 200 day moving average is $123.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $47.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.